Hele On
by McDannoMauLoa
Summary: Steve takes Danny to Kaua'i for some cultural immersion, but Steve's other motives soon come into play.
1. Chapter 1 Pualani

Chapter 1

Pualani

Steve McGarrett had always liked night flights. He'd always felt he thought more clearly in the sky, as though the altitude served as a high point for better mental reception. Somehow he thought more clearly at night—he knew radio waves had greater range at night without interference from solar radiation. If a man-made machine was more sensitive without interference from the sun, he thought, so too was man. He'd stepped outside of Five-0 headquarters into the fragrant O'ahu night and was regarding the night sky in silent perspective when his ruminations were broken by a flustered looking Danny Williams in reluctant pursuit. Perhaps flustered wasn't the right word to describe Danno—he always looked flustered, although Steve knew he wasn't. Highly strung perhaps, victim of a short fuse, but "flustered" suggested too much of a situational attitude. With Danno it was a state of being.

Steve regarded his partner. "No tie?"

Danny dropped the duffel he was carrying and jammed his hands into his pants pockets. "Just following orders, Commander." he said with a defeated look.

"Since when do you follow orders?" Steve feigned disbelief.

"I-since when do I follow orders? When do _I _follow orders? I'll have you know…"

"I'd follow whatever orders I got if it meant spending a paid week on Kaua'i." Kono shouted from the street. "Come on, there's _choke_ airport traffic tonight."

"Come again?"

"You'll learn it this week Danno." Steve said picking up both duffels. "She means there's a lot of traffic on the freeway tonight."

"You can't just say 'a lot'?"

Steve smiled. He knew Danno wasn't meaning to be argumentative; it was just the way he asked questions about things—his Jersey way. Make fun of it, make observations about it, and compare it to things more familiar, bullshit a little— in the end, whenever Danny pushed his buttons about something like Pidgin English, Steve knew he was really interested.

With the amount of ribbing he got from Danno about every little thing he did, he hoped it was because Danno was interested in him, too.

"Anything we can bring back from Kaua'i, Kono?" Steve asked as they slipped out of the car at Hawaiian Airlines Ticketing.

"Nothing there I can't get here."

"How about a Bubba Burger?"

"Aww shoots Boss why you have to mention that?"

Steve knew he had her. "Just had a feeling. Call me if you can't find the itinerary I e-mailed you. We'll be back at 10 on Friday night."

"Got it. Make it a double. With onion rings." She shot a glance at Danny. "Aloha." She smiled. "And good luck."

"What's she mean 'good luck'?" Danny inquired as they walked into the heavily air conditioned cement block terminal.

"I think she means 'good luck with you' Danno." Steve grinned. "I'm not sure how well this idea is going to work."

"I'm still not sure what this idea _is, _McGarrett. Organized crime on O'ahu doesn't just take a week's vacation, so I don't see how spending a week on Kaua'i is going to help us catch the bad guys any better."

"Danny it's no different than being a good beat cop in Jersey City. You talk to the people in the neighborhood—you know who you can trust and who you can't. You know who makes trouble, who means trouble, and whose middle name is trouble. To protect and serve, you first have to _know_. You've kept this place at arms length since you've been here, and I'm seeing if a change of scenery won't change your attitude."

Hawai'i wasn't the only thing Danno kept at arm's length, Steve thought. He'd never been averse to the idea of finding a man attractive, and the Navy SEALS afforded plenty of opportunity for that although it hadn't been the most opportune time or place to act on it. Sure there were plenty of court marshal worthy SEAL-on-SEAL shenanigans he'd witnessed perhaps even been a passive participant in over the years, but it was just boys being boys, he though. Natural. Men just do this kind of thing when they're stuck in squads like this.

It was different with Danno. Steve had been fond of Danno long before he began to think about what he looked like stepping out of a hot shower. Until he'd met Danno, Steve was convinced life was lived in a vacuum. You met people had varying degrees of connections with them some sexual, some affectionate, some familiar, but nobody had ever consumed his thoughts like Danno did. In the service, it had been too easy to focus on the task at hand rather than think about headier things like what he was doing with his life, but he'd been home in Hawai'i long enough now to be surrounded by normal people living normal domestic lives, and it appealed to him more than he'd ever imagined.

"Don't tell me you were trying to sneak through here without giving me a hug, Steven!"

Steve had been busy keying his confirmation code into the purple kiosk to retrieve his boarding pass when he whipped around at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Auntie K!" he exclaimed, embracing the petite middle-aged local woman in a Hawaiian Airlines uniform with a plumeria tucked into her salt and pepper waist-length hair. "How long's it been?"

"Too long." She smiled. "I'm so glad to see you again. Going to Kaua'i tonight?"

"Yes." He paused.

"Auntie K, this is my partner, Detective Danny Williams. Danny, Kalama Hoapili. She and my Mom were coworkers forever."

"Twenty-seven years." Auntie K's smile saddened visibly. "Aloha Danny." She said, with another warm embrace. Danny seemed surprised at the hug for a moment, but then melted into it. Steve warmed, seeing his partner embrace a longtime friend of his mother. _He'll eventually see this is how we say hello in these islands_. Steve thought to himself.

"Well, Five-0 hotshots, you may have full immunity and means here in Hawai'i, but the skies are federal territory, and I've got some paperwork for you two to fill out to travel with those guns." Auntie said, pushing them toward the ticket counter.

Steve half listened to Auntie K rattle on about which coworkers who knew his family were still around when his thoughts drifted to how long he had known her and all the other coworkers his mother had grown close with over the years. How many times he had visited Mom at work at the airport, and how the _ohana_ at the airline was thick and tight. Mom had never had trouble putting Steve and his sister by themselves on a flight to Lihue or Kahului to visit family. "You're flying _with_ family." She'd always say. "I trust these people with my life, but even more important, I trust them with you, my precious _keikis._" After she died, they remained as family, even sending care packages when he'd left for the service.

"Better go." Auntie K said, regarding the clock above the ticket counter. It's a light load tonight and they'll button up and get outta here pretty quick. "Here's a better boarding pass than those flimsy paper things you get out of the kiosk." she said with a wink.

"Mahalos, Auntie." Steve said, giving her another quick hug. "I'll give you a call when I'm back in town."

"I'd like to see you both again soon. Aloha Steve, Aloha, Danny."

"She's a doll." Danny beamed as they walked away.

"I love her." Steve grinned at Danny as he quickened his pace toward the security checkpoint. "She's probably as close to Mom as you'll ever meet."

Steve glanced back at the ticket counter before turning the corner toward the TSA checkpoint. Auntie K was standing on the baggage scale having watched them walk away. Even from a distance, Steve could detect a knowing smile on her face. She knew.

"This is not the seat I had before." Danny remarked as they tromped down the jet way to the 717.

"Did you think Auntie would let us ride in the back if there was a seat open in First Class?" McGarrett chuckled.

"She's some lady." Danny shook his head. "Like your Mom, you say?"

"So am I."

"You? I do not see there being much in the way of similarity between you, and that sweet lady who just upgraded us to First Class. You, my friend, are a world apart. I hardly think she goes around busting down doors and hanging perps off parking garage roofs." Danny opined as he sank into the purple leather recliner in the first row.

"You should see her handle an oversold flight." Steve deadpanned, looking out the window.

Steve looked steadily out the window, answering Danno's gripes in monosyllables as he watched the aircraft push away from the gate, leaving the rest of Hawaiian's 717 and 767 fleet bathed in the gold floodlights of the interisland terminal. Taxi was the usual nighttime swirl of blue lights, and within minutes the plane was soaring over Mamala Bay on a course West North West toward the Garden Isle of Kaua'i.

The moon shone full and bright as Danno dozed and Steve enjoyed a quick glass of POG on the short half hour flight to Lihue. Steve wished it was the right time of year to see whales, which come to the warmer waters of Hawai'i in the winter to calve, and return to the North Pacific to feed during the summer. He'd seen them before in groups of twos and threes, the telltale whitewash of breaking water as they breached giving them away, like tiny footprints in the vast ocean below. The moon illuminated the tops and sides of the big fluffy white clouds suspended over the Pacific, which lies below as a deep navy carpet sparkling in the moonlight gentle swelling across the channel between O'ahu and Kaua'i.

"Look Danny, it's beautiful. Like a painting." Steve reached a hand around Danny's bicep and squeezed, waking him from his light doze and pulling him toward the window to have a look. He felt Danny's hand on his shoulder.

"I can't see through you."

Steve leaned down as Danno leaned over further to share his view. He felt his pulse race as he realized Danno was leaning completely into him, close enough that he could feel his breath on the back of his neck and his left ear.

"I gotta admit," Danno said, resting his chin on the top of the hand steadied on Steve's shoulder, "That is pretty perfect. "Is that Kaua'i up there?"

Steve knew it was which meant the flight would soon be over. So much for spooning.

The plane landed with a bump, and skirted a long row of general aviation hangars on the way to the tiny terminal, bathed in floodlights like the one they had just left.

"Ahh, I recognize that smell." Steve remarked after they disembarked up the jet way, through the air conditioned holding room and out into the open air concourse of Lihue Airport.

"It smells like water damage." Danny remarked.

"Yeah, isn't it wonderful?"

"You've brought me to the sticks Steven," Danny began. "I didn't realize this place could get any more backwater, but it has. There are no lights! No city! Can you even get a pizza on this island? Remind me again, _what_ we are doing here that we couldn't do at home?"

"You just called O'ahu home, Danny." Steve grinned and listened to Danny complain out through the tiny baggage claim and across the street to the rental car hut where a yawning rental agent handed them the keys to a blue Ford Mustang convertible. Steve knew what he was doing here, though he didn't dare reveal the real reason for the trip. His theory about night flights had proven correct—the short flight had brought clarity of mind as he came to the realization that he had come to Kaua'i with a specific mission. He had come to Kaua'i to make Danny Williams fall in love with him.


	2. Chapter 2 Po'ipu

Chapter 2

Po'ipu

The blue Mustang had cruised with the top down through the sleeping town of Lihue in the briefest of moments, past a row of low buildings and under the rusted conveyor belt of the now-abandoned sugar mill, and Danno was still bitching. Steve was half listening, glancing at his partner every now and then in amusement. By the time they reached the darkened Kilohana Plantation, Steve had had enough. He took one of his hands off the wheel and slowly lowered Danno's gesticulating hands.

"Whoa there. You can't discover Kaua'i if you're too busy shouting at it. Drink this in, Danno."

He paused for a brief moment, and in a calculated move, brushed his thumb over Danno's knuckles before letting go. He knew Danno was getting ready to start again, but he was quickly shut down with a quick head jerk and a deflating look.

"Drink this in." Steve repeated. "Look at the moon, the mountains, and those perfectly illuminated clouds. And this."

The click of the turn signal was the only sound as Danno's gaze was transfixed by the tree tunnel looming to their left.

"Wow." Danno said in awe. "Why—who does this? Just a tunnel of trees? Is this natural?"

"Well, like many things in Hawai'i, the tree tunnel has more than one story. Nobody really knows if their version is completely true, half true, or not at all true. What I do know is that these are eucalyptus trees, which is why they smell so good."

"Mr. Wizard." Danny smiled; arching back to take in the towering arbors, their knotted interlocking fingers interspersed just often enough to illuminate the tunnel with moonbeams bright enough to read by. The Kaua'i countryside shone brighter as the clouds had moved on, leaving the moon to shine directly upon the now fallow fields that once nurtured a waving sea of sugar cane. The rolling hills that undulated into steep peaks flickered by like an old fashioned picture show as the car lumbered past the measured interval between each trunk. The fauna of the underbrush hummed a steady chorus of a warm tropical evening as Steve wondered after a few miles and the end of the tree tunnel if Danny had fallen asleep, but a furtive glance confirmed his eyes were still open if half-lidded.

Submission. A minor victory.

Po'ipu, literally translated, means "crashing waves" and with the moon as full as it was the waves could be heard even over the nighttime din of the underbrush as they approached the shore.

"You know you way around here pretty well eh?" Danny mused.

"Mom grew up around here. In that town we passed two miles back. Koloa."

"Oh yes. The place that looked like something out of the _Grapes of Wrath._"

Steve ignored the bait and chuckled to himself. He had a special weapon in store that he wasn't ready to reveal just yet.

There was nobody in sight as they pulled into the _porte cochere _of the Sheraton Kaua'i Resort.

Danny was impressed. "Now this—this is nice. You've surprised me. What are we bunking with the pool boys? Sharing a maid's closet with five of our new best friends?"

Steve bristled at the word _closet. _That was another complicated mess to tackle.

"Nah, just a garden view room. I'm not that rich."

"What you—you paid for all of this?" Danny's voice trailed off.

Steve, a step and a half in front of Danny, cringed, knowing he couldn't see.

"Department budget." He backpedaled. "The Department Budget is not that rich. The Governor doesn't just give us blank checks." He glanced back at Danny.

"This is nice. Definitely nice." Danny said, giving the lobby a once-over.

"Aloha. Reservation's under McGarrett." Steve smiled at the pretty young girl behind the front desk. Even at 11 PM, undoubtedly near the end of her shift, she still seemed as "on" as she should have been for such a nice hotel, smiling broadly as she pecked away at her keyboard.

"I'm so sorry gentlemen, we're booked pretty full this week and I'm afraid we're all out of double bedded rooms. However, I can offer you an ocean front suite with a king in the master bedroom and a pull out couch in the sitting room at the same rate for the five nights."

_Well that's a mixed bag_, Steve thought. _A king bed, but we'll be sleeping in separate rooms._

"Works for me if it works for you McGarrett." Danny said. "I'm sure a pull-out sofa bed in this fine establishment would be an immense upgrade from the pull-out sofa bed I sleep on at home."

The girl was quick to sell the arrangement. "and if the sofa bed doesn't work for you, just call us and we'll have a rollaway sent up instead. They're a little bigger and they can be more comfortable. Just let us know." she said, with a reassuring smile.

The walk to the room through the labyrinthine corridors seemed endless, even with the clearly marked directions they'd been given at the front desk, but to Steve's relief the rooms were far from the elevators, at the end of a long corridor. Kaua'i was in general silent enough, but the whirring and dinging of elevators was not his idea of a getaway. He could tell Danno was tired. There hadn't been much discourse on the way up to the room, and he knew Danno was looking forward to a bed, any bed, where he could get horizontal and sleep for a couple hours.

"Definitely an upgrade." Danny observed as he walked into the room and flicked on the lights. The sitting room was comfortably but not outlandishly furnished in a nondescript, vaguely island style, but what immediately caught his attention was the four poster bed in the adjacent bedroom, upon he which he flopped face first, arms out as though he hoped to float onto the layers upon layers of crisp clean sheets.

"Five minutes, detective. I'll be out of the shower in five minutes and I want my bed." Steve said. _With you still in it. _He finished the thought to himself.

"Right on it Commander." Danny mumbled into the sheets.

"Right on it is right where I want ya." Steve mumbled under his breath as he shut the bathroom door.

Steve took 15 minutes in the shower, because, after all, it was a great shower. Nothing refreshed him like a good shower at night to wash the tedium of the day down the drain, although he wouldn't really have classified this day, at least not the last few hours of it, as tedium. Just him and Danno traveling—two guys on the road, facing a journey ahead as unknown to either of them as the blindest corner on the most narrow road in the worst weather. Steve impatiently waited for the next moment to come, knowing it could bring an acquiescing, reciprocating Danno into his arms, drive a freaked out Danno completely away, or worse, maintain the tense status quo that Steve knew was untenable moving forward.

_I've got to know._ He thought to himself.

Moments later he stepped back out into the bedroom with one of the hotel's plush, oversized cotton towels wrapped around his waist when he noticed Danno hadn't moved from his position on the bed at all. Well, almost. He'd kicked off his shoes.

Steve tiptoed toward his sleeping partner, turning off the sitting room lights as he went. He bent over and studied Danno for a full half minute, realizing he'd fallen into a deep sleep.

_He's not going anywhere._

Rather exhausted himself, and rather hungry but too invested in the opportunity to share a bed with Danno for the night to think about anything else, he inhaled, turned out the bedside lamp, and in a momentary flicker of modesty dropped his towel and deftly slipped underneath the sheets next to his sleeping friend.

_God that feels good._ He though, not entirely knowing whether he was thinking more about the fresh linens or the fact that he'd slipped under Danno's outstretched right arm, which was still sprawled across his side of the bed, now resting heavy upon his mid-thigh. Steve adjusted the pillow and thought that it wasn't near enough, but if that was all he was going to get, it would have been enough just for that one night.

"Good night Danno. I love you." He whispered, dropping his guard in the creeping drowsiness as he lay on his side, turned toward Danny, watching him sleep. It didn't take long for Steve to join him.

_I've got to know._


	3. Chapter 3 Po'alua Kakahiaka

Chapter 3

Po'alua Kakahiaka

Steve knew he'd slept well—he woke up in the same position in which he'd drifted off. He knew Danno had slept well too. He was still in his shirt and pants, and socks even, which Steve winced at. He could never sleep in socks, and he didn't know how anybody could. More noticeable (and this made Steve's nether regions twitch and grow more tumescent than they already were at this early hour) was that Danno had managed to rearrange himself on the bed during the night so that his blond head was resting on the pillow next to Steve instead of laying where he'd fallen the previous evening.

He'd seen Danno asleep before, but never up close. Never to where he could study the face of his slumbering partner, wondering what was going on behind those eyelids, subtly fluttering with REM. Danny's expression was peaceful, and Steve hoped his dreamland was a peaceful one. A twinge of guilt shadowed Steve's face as he reflected on whether he contributed to his partner's stress. Not just the stress that he knew Danno had overblown for purposes of intensifying his trademark shtick—what worried him was the stress he _didn't_ bitch to him about.

Steve's aim had always been singular. You had a mission, and you did it, or you died. If you did it, you got another mission, and you kept on accepting missions out of duty to your country. If you died you did it for the cause, and you did it singly. Steve couldn't fathom how much the job could weigh on you if you had children, like Danny did. They'd spent their days examining the very worst of the human experience, and while Steve knew Danno was an experienced cop, he'd become well acquainted with a look Danno gave at certain crime scenes—a combination of worry, panic, and fear, and he knew Danno was thinking about Grace. As a parent you spend a great deal of your time worrying about all the terrible things that can happen to your children, but Danno didn't even need a mediocre imagination to understand all the peril that lurked around every corner, even in the relative peace of Honolulu.

It was watching Danno pull that face at a crime scene one day that Steve realized he loved him. He'd asked his mother once, when he was eleven, how he would know when he was in love. Without hesitation she'd said, "When you feel their pain as your own." Steve knew that day his mother was right. As he watched Danno's expression change he felt the worry, he felt the panic and he felt the fear.

He laid and watched Danno sleep for a full half hour while he debated with himself the best way to wake him, though he hated to do it. He knew better than to touch the hair. He rubbed a hand across Danno's shoulders and down his right arm with just enough pressure to do the job.

"Danno. Wake up partner."

Danny's eyes shot open, closed again as he inhaled deeply, turned the other side of his face to the pillow and exhaled again.

"Sleepy." He muttered. "Five more minutes."

Steve grinned. "Five more minutes. But then I get the cold water."

"Mmm."

Steve wasn't sure if that was acknowledgement or protest, but Danny's body was going limp again.

Either it hadn't occurred to Danny that he'd shared a four poster king bed with Steve for the whole night, or he didn't mind, because he'd woken up, or half woken up, next to Steve as though he'd done it every morning for half his life. A comforting thought.

He gave Danny seven minutes. "Danno. Let's get up."

"I'm up."

Danny jerked up and turned his head toward Steve, freeing a hand to prop it up. His eyes didn't stay open for long before they shut for another few seconds, opening again intently at Steve as though he'd just realized he was in bed with him.

"I must have passed out hard."

Steve nodded. "You did."

"Sorry."

Steve fumbled for an answer. This was rocky territory.

"No worries. Go shower. I'm hungry." Steve didn't really want Danny to get out of bed, but he might betray himself to Danny if the pillow talk drug out.

Danny gave Steve a once-over and grinned. "Are we going to go spearfish it ourselves? Or do we have to chase it down and gut it?"

"I was actually in the mood for a donut."

"Mr. Protein Shake is in the mood for a donut?" Danny teased.

"The rules don't apply on Kaua'i." Steve smiled.

Danny clearly wasn't in any hurry to get out of bed.

"Danno, I'm hungry." Steve shoved at his shoulder.

"I'm comfortable!" Danny protested. "And I'd love a cup of coffee. Go make me some."

Steve paused, unsure of what to say.

Danny pushed himself up on both elbows and his smile broadened. "You can't get out of bed, can you?" He gave Steve an inquisitive look as he waited for an answer.

"Danno I—I _don't have anything on._"

"I knew it!" Danny exclaimed, flopping out of bed, throwing a pillow in Steve's face on the way up.

"What? It's how I sleep." Steve countered, turning red.

Danno smiled for a minute, his expression belied his search for something witty to say, and Steve was fully expecting a lecture on the virtues of modesty on work trip room sharing situations, but Danno seemed to concede, heading for the shower, smiling, without another word.

Steve waited until he heard the shower turn on before getting out of bed to fish through his bag for a pair of underpants and to open a window.

"Now _this _is a donut." Danny exclaimed in between bites of a chocolate frosted donut with rainbow colored sprinkles.

"So are those other two." Steve said, pointing at the apple fritter and the maple bar lying in wait for the detective's eager chops.

"And they're both mine, so don't get any ideas, McGarrett. You just enjoy your plain glazed old-fashioned there."

McGarrett was two bites into his donut, and it was pretty good, but he wasn't sure if it wasn't just the novelty of junk food he liked.

"So what is it with cops and donuts?" he asked.

"Before you go too far down that road, my friend, I might point out that you are currently a cop, eating a donut."

Steve smiled as he watched Danny finish the donut, lick his lips, brush the crumbs from his fingertips, and start on the apple fritter with barely a breath in between.

"But why are they so closely associated? You always hear about cops and donuts."

"Well," Danny started, in between bites. "Think about it. They're sold in donut shops and convenience stores, both of which are on cop beats, they're still good even if they've sat out half-eaten on a desk or a dashboard it something unforeseen should come up, and they're great with coffee, which police stations always seem to have in abundance, and which the donut shops and convenience stores usually give us for free."

McGarrett took another bite. "I never thought of it that way."

_Note to self McGarrett, _he thought, _wanna see a damn irresistible set of happy Danno eyes, just get him talking about donuts. _

The sun had risen above the horizon enough to illuminate the Poipu Shopping Village's open air breezeways as the birds chirped awake the day. There were very few early morning walkers and donut-seekers, leaving Steve and Danny mostly to themselves at the wooden picnic table next to the walk-up bakeshop near the main entrance.

The shopping center was a short walk from the Sheraton, and Steve had noticed a quieter, more observant Danno as they strolled at a much slower pace than was normal for either of them, despite Steve teasing his partner about his hunger pangs.

Steve finished his donut about the same time Danno polished off the maple bar. Steve had expected Danno to sit and relax a bit, as he did after most marathon meals, and that was marathon, Steve thought, even for Danno, but he popped right up, curiously drawn to a display window a few stores down. Steve sauntered after him, hands in his pockets, lingering in thought on each step, alternately examining his shoes and his surroundings, curious as to what caught his eye. He came upon Danny staring intently into the window of Na Hoku.

"Jewelry eh?" Steve mused, sidling up to Danny and looking down at him.

Danny's eyes were locked on a slipper pendant. The wheels were turning.

"Do you think Grace is big enough for big girl jewelry?" Danny asked, without breaking his gaze into the display.

"Sure."

"Not that I'm afraid she might lose it, you know, that's not the point, but I just always thought, you know, some things you've got to save for little girls so they can be busy being little girls. Call me old-fashioned, you know, but little girls shouldn't look like Lady Gaga."

This was a more intimate conversation than he was used to having with Danno, and Steve relished it. Even better, he felt strangely honored that Danno was asking for his opinion – actually _asking_ for his _opinion – _and about his daughter. This was no light thing. He was asking Steve something he could easily have asked Rachel instead.

Steve thought for a moment. "Up to now, you've given her things she appreciates as a child. You'll eventually start giving her things she'll appreciate now, and will still treasure when she's grown."

Danny looked up at Steve, surprised, with an open-mouthed smile of agreement spreading across his face.

"Absolutely right. How do you know kids so well McG?"

"Dunno." Steve shrugged. "Guess with a dwindling family you think about having one."

"You've got one." Danny was suddenly serious.

"Thanks," Steve started, trying hard to mask the vulnerability in his voice, searching for a new topic.

"You know Steven," Danny said, turning to face him, "maybe _you're_ not as alone as _you_ think." Danny's eyes sparkled.

Steve swallowed. Danny held his gaze for a moment, and then broke away.

"So—breakfast, check. What's on the agenda for the rest of the morning?"

Steve launched into a description, happy to have been given the out for a new topic. He wasn't sure we he was suddenly self-conscious about his poorly-laid plans to get Danno to fall for him, but his partner was certainly showing a new light in the new day, on a new island.

_Maybe this won't be so hard after all. _


	4. Chapter 4 Wailele

_I do not own Hawai'i Five-0 or any of its characters. This fiction is a portion of an ongoing derivative work since July, 2011. Please contact me with any copyright concerns._

Chapter 4

Wailele

Steve was beginning to inwardly panic. He'd realized after stepping back into the hotel room with Danno that he'd brought him to Kaua'i to seduce him but hadn't planned the rest of his cover past renting a car and a hotel and calling it "cultural immersion". The culture he didn't have a problem with—Kaua'i was his Mother's island, and he knew it well enough to keep them entertained for the better part of a week. But he was Steve the Planner, and he was beside himself for having not thought his plan through. He supposed that when you were in love you were meant to be spontaneous, but he hadn't quite figured out how to get that love message across to Danno, and it scared him. It had scared him when Danno got close in front of the jewelry store, and it was scaring him that he might actually have to own up to his feelings and leave himself open to an unknown: Danno's response.

"I'm gonna lay down, Danny. That sugar got to me."

"Yeah I'm just gonna step outside and call Grace." Danny wiggled his cell phone.

Steve nodded and covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow, trying to sort out what to do next.

His brain was getting the better of him. His relationship with Danno was by far the most important he'd had since he returned to Hawai'i, and he knew he had to reveal his feelings—it would only be fair, but he suddenly felt the immense pressure of what it would mean to do so. The past few months back in Hawai'i had forced him to consider his path in life and where he wanted it to lead. The months spent fighting crime for the Governor of the home he loved were pure bliss—he was no longer abstractly fighting a difficult to understand enemy in the nether regions of South Asia—he was fighting a difficult to understand enemy in his own turf, but he was also fighting to directly protect his family. Danno. And now Grace. He supposed if Danno was his family so was Grace.

_It's list time, _Steve thought. _What do I have to lose by telling Danno I love him? I could lose him. I could lose my commission. Shit. Haven't thought about that. Don't Ask Don't Tell isn't officially dead yet, is it? Danno's also a subordinate, isn't he? Double shit. _

Steve looked out the window. Danno was out on the balcony pacing and talking on the phone. Not really pacing, just walking. Back and forth from side to side. Steve could hear snippets of the conversation, but he wasn't using his Grace voice, he was using his Rachel voice.

_That's another hurdle. What am I doing? This is FUBAR. _

Steve let out a long, tentative sigh.

_Ok quick. Pros. What do I get by doing this? A family. Danno. Grace. More kids? Yeah, I kinda do want more kids. I've never thought of that before. How do we even do that? Hurdle. No. Not a hurdle. Thinking positives here. Damn I want that. No more making excuses to spend time with him. No more worrying what he might think if I hug him too long. Couple things. We could do couple things. Go dancing. Share a bed. Sharing a bed's good. Doing naked things. That was nice waking up together this morning. I could do that every morning. A partner. You should have a partner in life. Why am I hurting? _

Steve felt the ache spread from his sides to the middle of his chest as he began to breathe deeper. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath, and he wondered if this was what heartache felt like. He knew if he wanted Danno so much it hurt, he'd have to draw some conclusions before they left Kaua'i or he might lose his nerve.

He heard Danno lower his voice on the balcony outside, and he began straining to listen.

"No."

"I've been thinking about it. A lot, actually. Yes, I know what it _means_ Rachel, and I'm not concerned about that. Yes I know it would be complicated, as you've pointed out to me several times before, and I might add it has been very effective, so I don't need to be reminded again, thank you."

He stopped and massaged his sinus.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I love you too."

Steve felt hot. Why was he telling his ex-wife he loved her?

He hopped out of bed as Danno walked back inside the room.

"We gotta go. We've got an island to see."

"Never get married Steven." Danny heaved. "It's worth it, but it's not worth it, you know?"

"If I _could_ get married…" Steve started, and stopped, realizing he'd said too much.

"What do you mean if you _could_ get married?" Danny asked.

_Triple shit._

"You know, who'd wanna marry me?" Steve hoped Danny would buy the ruse and drop it.

"I dunno buddy, you're pretty tough to take." Danny said, cupping his partner's shoulder. "Pretty tough to take."

Steve exhaled in relief.

"But I could see somebody wanting to marry you." Danny added.

Steve looked down at Danny. There was conviction behind those blue eyes, which had suddenly steeled in determination.

_Shit._

Steve had driven without considering where exactly he was taking Danny. He'd headed west, vaguely considering Waimea Canyon_, _which turned out to be a hit. Danny had looked out the passenger side and demanded Steve pull over into the next scenic outlook so he could take in the view. Danny had never done that before, and Steve was pleased. One of the reasons he'd chosen Kaua'i was that he knew that anybody he wanted to love him couldn't love him without loving Hawai'i, and Kaua'i was the best place in Hawai'i he knew for people to fall in love with it.

"Why does Hawaiian music sound like reggae?" Danny asked as they got back into the car.

"Well, a lot of the new stuff does, yeah." Steve said. "But Hawai'i is sort of this melting pot. You know the 'traditional' Hawaiian elevator music you hear in the airports and hotels? A lot of that musical tradition comes from the Portugal. Portagees they say around here."

He liked Danny asking questions. Questions were good. He was showing interest, and he wasn't being judgmental, like Danny could be.

The day had developed into a gorgeous one. Although Kaua'i was notoriously rainy, today was sunny, and the clouds were small, but still large and puffy enough to provide periodic respite from the sun's rays as it reached its zenith near the hottest part of the day.

Danny was still asking questions about music with long periods of silence as he was transfigured into a reflective mood as Steve maneuvered through the hairpin turns and steep grades of the road to the State Park at Kokee.

Tiny raindrops began to fall, and Steve was careful to raise the convertible top before leaving the car.

"Fog?" Danny asked. "In the middle of the day?"

"Clouds." Steve observed. "We're very near one of the wettest spots on earth."

He grabbed his knapsack out of the trunk and beckoned Danny toward the trailhead.

"Where's this leading us?"

"We can't get down into the valley from here, but there's a nice three mile hike along the ridgeline. You can't see it now but the Kalalau Valley is beneath us, and there's usually a better view from the trail.

"And what's special about this valley that we have to hike three miles to see it?"

"It's pretty. And it's believe at one point tens of thousands of native Hawaiians lived in this valley. It's like the Garden of Eden. Come on it'll be worth it."

Steve needed to clear his head with a good sweat. He was still reeling from overhearing Danno tell Rachel he loved her. He immediately felt insignificant. How could he compete for Danno's affections with the Mother of his child, with someone he'd spent years married to? If he still loved her, he knew his own relationship with Danno, whatever it was, would be relegated to a lower shelf. He suddenly felt guilty again.

_It's so much easier for him to love Rachel. I'd just be baggage. _

It was something else he hadn't considered. Face with the choice, why on earth would Danno choose him? Danno was the only person that he'd really loved since he left his family for Annapolis, and he couldn't help himself, but he'd never considered there might be higher priority people in Danno's life—he'd almost completely forgotten about Rachel until he'd overheard Danno earlier.

Danny's barrage of questions about the plants and birds they were encountering along the trail took Steve's mind of his worries as they hiked a gentle downgrade below the tree line of the ridge, skirting a narrow valley adjacent the long, deep Kalalau.

"Stop for a sec. I need a drink." Danny said. He stood behind Steve and unzipped the rucksack, pulling out a bottle of water, still cold, and sweating from the ambient humidity. He zipped the rucksack back up and Steve continue down the trail, which turned left into a semi circle about ten feet across and sloped down into the small valley thick with vegetation and underbrush. He sensed Danno wasn't behind him anymore and turned around to find him still on the other side of the semi circle, holding the water bottle in between gulps while he bent over, hands on his knees, taking a breather.

"You're not tired already are ya Danno?" Steve quipped.

"Nah, just having a break and a think." Danny admitted.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Steve shifted his weight to one foot and stepped back.

Danny paused, and looked up at Steve, still hunched over. "I'm uh, considering remarriage."

Steve was halfway through his third step toward Danny when he realized there was no longer ground beneath his feet.

Steve heard trickling water and suddenly felt wet. And hot. And he ached all over like he hadn't ached in a long time. But mostly he felt hot. He opened his eyes and saw Danno smiling down at him.

"There he is." Danno said softly.

"Danno, why are you upside down?"

He felt Danno chuckle softly, and wondered why he could _feel_ it, and why Danno was upside down. And why Danno was standing in front of a white screen.

He closed his eyes again.

"Uh uh" Danny said. "You're staying with me, now that I gotcha. Open 'em up."

Steve opened his eyes again. As he began to get his bearings he realized Danno was sitting cross legged on the ground, with Steve's head and shoulders were in his lap.

_That explains why he's upside down. And the white screen behind him is the sky. _

"What happened?"

"Your dumb ass took a tumble." Danny said. "And you scared the living shit out of me McGarrett. You promise me you'll never do that again."

Serious Danno again.

Steve didn't remember the fall, but he remembered Danno telling him he was considering remarriage. Which meant this kind of intimacy between them was bound for that shelf Steve worried about.

"Hey hey, babe," Danno's soft voice came back. "There's no crying in baseball!"

Steve didn't realize his eyes had watered and run over.

"My head hurts." He lied.

_But not as bad as my heart._

"Can you move?" Danny asked.

Steve didn't want to move. He wanted to lay there in Danno's lap until he stopped hurting. But he had no idea how long it would be until he stopped hurting. In spite of how close Danno was holding him, he'd never felt farther away.


	5. Chapter 5 Hikiewale Hewa

_I do not own Hawai'i Five-0 or any of its characters. This fiction is a portion of an ongoing derivative work since July, 2011. Please contact me with any copright concerns._

Chapter 5

Hikiwale Hewa

Steve tore into the plate of shrimp as if he hadn't eaten in days. At least it felt like he hadn't eaten in days, even though it had really only been about eight hours. He was accustomed to more protein at the beginning of the day, and hadn't thought about how unsatisfying that donut would turn out to be in an hour or two. He was reminded why he didn't eat junk food.

"Not hungry Danno?" Steve asked. Danno was picking at his own plate of shrimp.

"Still jittery." Danny admitted. "Need I remind you again that you _scared the shit out of me back there?_"

Steve sighed. "I wasn't thinking, Danny." He dove back into his plate of shrimp.

Steve wondered why Danno was shouting, but Danno was always shouting, and it was difficult to hear as the passing downpour pounded against the tin awning they were sitting under. Wobbly plastic deck chairs, a picnic table that leaned, and lots of smiles and jokes from the staff—this place was a truly local establishment. He wanted Danno to see that but Danno was too busy yelling at him. He wanted soft Danno back.

After realizing he could walk and that the only thing really wrong with him was a couple cuts and a bruised heart, his mood for hiking had waned, and he and Danno had hiked back out of the valley to where they parked—where an ambulance was waiting. Danno had fished the sat-phone Steve didn't tell him about out of his rucksack while he was knocked out and called for help, even though Steve had insisted he was fine. The paramedics mostly agreed, but told Steve he likely had a mild concussion and shouldn't seep until that evening.

"You don't have to yell." Steve added after a moment.

"I'm sorry." Danny said, frustrated. "I just… I wasn't ready for that."

"I wasn't ready for…" Steve stopped.

_Shit._

Danny looked perplexed for a moment, and then a light of recognition waved over his face and he leaned back in his chair.

"You don't like the idea of me marrying Rachel." He said.

Steve paused. "Are you gonna eat that or just look at it?"

"No, take it. You don't like the idea of me marrying Rachel again do you?" He pressed.

Steve took Danny's plate of Cajun shrimp, made a face when he saw he'd put pepper all over it, and continued eating.

"Don't ignore me McGar-"

"No Danny, I don't." Steve exploded. "I don't like the idea of you remarrying Rachel, ok? I wasn't going to say it, but apparently you're dead set on having my opinion, I don't know why, because my opinion never matters to you anyway." Steve felt hot again as he stared down at his partner's half eaten plate, which he'd stopped eating from.

"So I guess you giving me away at the wedding is out of the question." Danny deadpanned.

This wasn't happening. Danno really was thinking about getting married to Rachel again. Who could blame him? The flickering hope that Steve had felt for months, the hope that Danno might feel the same way about him the he felt for Danno was becoming dimmer and dimmer with each sentence. He didn't want to hear any more. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, examining his hiking boots.

"Hey buddy, that was a joke." Danno softened. "Why are you so-"

"Because I love you, Danno. I'm sorry. I love you. That's all I got. You can do whatever you want with that, but that's where I am right now. I can't give away the man I love to somebody else."

Danny looked like he'd won the lottery. "I was wondering how long that would take."

"What?"

Danny was laughing. "You should see the look on your face right now Steve. It's priceless. Yeah, I knew, I've known for months. So has Kono. So has Chin. Jenna pulled me aside and asked me the day we met."

Steve was numb.

"And," Danny added."I heard you last night when you thought I was asleep."

It took Steve a split second to realize the ground beneath him was actually there this time, because he felt like he'd fallen again.

"You knew." The heat Steve felt was beginning to boil over.

"Yeah." Danny smiled, clearly amused with himself. "Hey wait, come back McGarrett! You don't understand. Steve! Let's talk!"

Steve had to get away. He felt awful, and he didn't want Danny to see him cry. He knocked over the wobbly chair and had darted behind the adjacent building before Danny had a chance to stop him. His head was pounding, and he was drenched in a few seconds from the downpour. He'd forgotten it was raining. He didn't care. If Danny followed him, at least he wouldn't see his tears. He was angry that he was crying again, twice in the same day. The first time, he'd had Danno's comfort; now he didn't want it. He felt like such a fool—everyone was in on the joke except him.

He was crossing Laau Road when he heard Danno's footfalls behind him in double-time. "Steve ,wait up!"

He had no intention of waiting. No intention of hearing Danno kid him about how funny it had all been, how amusing he'd been to everybody.

Steve had cleared the trees and was now staggering onto the wet sand of the beach.

"You're running out of places to go, babe, unless you're planning to swim to Ni'ihau." Danny called.

Steve turned around and gave Danny a look that said _dare me to do it and I will._

"Will you just _listen to me McGarrett?" _Danny was out of breath.

"I'm listening."

Danny fumbled, at a loss for words. "I don't—I don't know I don't love you too."

"You don't know you don't love me?" Steve repeated. "You're not making sense detective."

Danny had finally reached him and was standing directly in front of Steve. The rain continued to poor down onto the beach and the surf continued to force their voices a click louder than normal.

"You don't know if you love me. That's what you're saying." Steve frowned.

Danny stepped closer. "I don't know that I love you the way I think you want me to Steve,"

Steve turned to keep walking, but Danny put his hands on his shoulders to stop him.

"I'm not done." He said, looking Steve directly in the eye. "I don't know that I love you, _that way_. But I don't know that I _don't_ love you."

He put his hands on Steve's waist, stood up on his tiptoes, and kissed him.

Steve felt everything behind the kiss. It was sincere, it was heartfelt, it was genuine, but best of all—it was Danno. Danno was kissing him, and it was wonderful. Steve thought if he couldn't have anything else, at least he had this.

"But I promise you—I will find out."


	6. Chapter 6 Eia Au, Eia 'Oe

Chapter 6

Eia Au, Eia 'Oe

Steve loved plumeria. The fragrant white yellow-throated flowers had always been his favorite, and they invariably reminded him of his mother. His earliest memories as a child had been picking up the windfalls from underneath the plumeria trees in their yard on O'ahu. One of his favorite photographs he'd kept over the years was of himself as a toddler, in hand with his mother, and a plastic child's pail overflowing with their floral treasures.

He was surprised that Danny had come along with him as the sun hung low over the horizon when he ventured down Po'ipu Beach to pick plumeria from an obliging tree—surprised because Danny didn't care much about flowers to begin with, and surprised that Danny had been as attentive as he had been since his shrimp shack confession. He was still confused by what he meant.

They'd had little conversation in the car on the way back to the hotel, but he'd made it clear that if Danny decided he _did_ love him, that he would have to make the moves himself. Steve felt he'd already done his part, and he was sick of chasing. He remembered using the phrase "sweep me off my feet", and he flushed with embarrassment. He'd never considered himself a romantic, much less a submissive romantic, but he found himself longing to be feted and chased.

Steve plucked a plumeria from a tree he'd spotted in front of Brenneckes and slipped it behind his ear. He reached for another flower.

"What about me?" Danny asked.

"You want a flower?" Steve asked incredulously.

Danny smiled. "I'm trying new things this week." He winked.

Steve realized he must have looked pained because Danno's smile crumpled into a concerned frown as he pulled him into an embrace.

"Hey buddy. I know it's rough, and I feel bad. I just want to be sure, you know?"

Steve had no response for Danny. He also noticed Danny was in no hurry to break away.

After some time, they parted, and Steve plucked another plumeria off the tree for Danny, which he dutifully tucked behind his ear, which made Steve laugh.

"They do smell good." Danny mused.

He took Steve's hand as they walked back to the hotel.

"This is just new to me." He explained.

"And I've had a lot of boyfriends." Steve shot back.

"Well, have you?" Danny asked.

"No. Not one. I've never even been with another guy." Steve admitted. "I thought about it, I knew it went on in the Navy, but I guess I had other priorities."

Steve tried to think of what those priorities were, and he was having a difficult time remembering them. He'd been on autopilot for so long he'd forgotten what exactly where he was headed, or why, but back to Hawai'i had seemed like the right place almost as soon as he'd returned. He smiled as he watched a local family setting up for a cookout under a pavilion in the nearby beach park. A married couple, a bit older than he, and at least seven children, although Steve knew that as tightly knit as a lot of local families were, some of the children were likely friends or cousins. Steve was comforted by the domestic scene, and realized he'd always felt comforted by scenes of home and family, although he'd never considered having one of his own—not until he realized he loved Danny, and that all seemed to hang precariously in a balance that Steve couldn't determine. He squeezed Danny's hand, almost for reassurance that he was still holding it, and got a return squeeze.

He hadn't thought there was anything out of the ordinary about walking on a crowded beach at sunset holding hands with his partner until he realized one of the older girls in the family was staring at them. The mother noticed and asked, Steve surmised what she was looking at. They chatted for a moment and the mother looked up, her eyes squinting as it was some distance. After examining them for a moment the woman smiled at them and turned back to the girl. Steve knew the mother was doing some explaining. That hadn't occurred to Steve either, at least not in depth. If he managed to be the one Danny chose they'd have a lot of explaining to do.

"What are you looking at?" Danny asked.

Steve looked at Danny and shrugged. Danny returned the smile.

They walked for a moment, and then Steve got curious.

"You're being awfully understanding, Danno."

Danny smiled. "Steven, to be quite honest with you, if a guy had told me he loved me and wanted to be with me a year ago I probably would have decked him, but I've never felt the way about a guy the way I do about you. It's like…"

"You like me like you like Rachel." Steve finished.

"Yeah! Yeah, I do." Danny realized and spoke in the same breath. "How'd you know?"

"She told me while we were staking out at her house that she'd never seen anybody else press your buttons the same way I do. Is she, uh, in on this whole 'Steve loves Danny' I'm just know finding out about?"

Danny cupped the back of his neck with his free hand, visibly embarrassed. "I said I was sorry." He squeezed Steve's hand and looked up at him with sincerity. "And yes, she knows."

Steve stiffened.

"I had to talk to somebody." Danny protested. "What was I gonna do, discuss it at work? Ask Gracie on the way home from school? Spill my guts to Kamakona over shave ice and be elected grand marshall of the next gay pride parade within 48 hours after the whole island found out?"

"Are you still planning to marry her again?" Steve asked.

They'd reached the hotel bar near the beach entrance and Danny stopped to face Steve, cupping his hands around the back of his partner's neck.

"Look, I know you want to be reassured right now, and it hurts me that you're stuck in this limbo. Honestly, it kills me to see you hurt, because your hurt is my hurt." Danny readjusted the plumeria behind Steve's ear.

_Got him!_

"But the truth is, I don't know till I know. I really enjoyed this walk we just had, and to be quite honest, I'm pretty sure I would enjoy doing naughty things with you, but I've got to sort some things out in my head, ok?"

"Ok." Steve managed.

"I just… I just don't want to lead you on if I can't keep my promise."

Steve took a quick look around, and marveled that the other guests in the bar, at the pool, and along the beach didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary, although he was in an untypically intimate embrace with Danny.

"Hey, you wanna dance?" Danny asked. "I like this song."

Steve listened for a moment. It was Jason Mraz' "I'm Yours".

"You said you didn't want to lead me on?" He joked.

"Trying new things this week. Just shut up and dance, McGarrett". Danny smiled. "I'm leading." He said, slipping his right hand to the small of Steve's back.

"Who knew you could dance? I've never not lead before." He put his free hand on Danno's shoulder. "Here?"

Danny nodded. "Feels about right. Though I'm not used to dancing with someone taller than me."

"Coulda fooled me." Steve laughed.

"Oooh, you're gonna pay for that one later."

Steve felt intoxicated. Danny was certainly making good on his promises to both find out what he wanted, and to take it when he decided he did want it. Steve liked being taken, and he had high hopes for the rest of the week.

"Who knew you could dance?" Steve mused.

"I will have you know all the Williams men can dance." Danny defended. "Ma insisted. She said you couldn't get married and never dance with your wife."

"I suppose." Steve felt hot again.

Danny seemed to realize the word "wife" might have been a slug for Steve, and he quickly moved on.

"So, uh, what's for dinner tonight?"

_Ah yes, the secret weapon. _

"It's a secret." Steve teased.

"C'mon I gotta know what to prepare for!"

Steve shook his head. "You'll like it, I promise."

"Is it far? I'm starving."

"Shouldn't have given away that plate of shrimp."

Danny shrugged. The song was over and he was ready to go. As they walked away Steve realized Danny's arm was still around his waist.

"I've actually got my wallet this time."

"The one time you don't need it." Danny chortled.

Steve looked down at him in surprise, about to protest Danny wanting to pay—it was coming out of the budget after all, but Danny stopped him.

"Uh uh. You're my date tonight. If I'm going to find out, I'm going to find out the right way."

Steve fairly floated to the car.

Danny didn't let go of Steve's hand in the car, he didn't let go of it as they reached Old Koloa Town, and he was still holding it when they walked through the front door of Pizzettaand he could almost feel Danny's knees buckle.

"You _can_ get pizza on this island." He said softly.

"I used to love coming here when it was one of those grill-it-yourself places. That was twenty years ago now." Steve reminisced. Time seemed to stand still on Kaua'i. He swore even the furniture and fittings were all the same, sold with the place when the Pizzetta had first opened.

"Two chiantis please sweetheart. Mahalo." Danny ordered as he began to dissect the menu. Steve hadn't even looked at his.

"Is one of those for me?"

"Yes. I'd say we both need it, after the day we've had."

Steve shrugged again. "I'm pretty relaxed."

Danny put his menu down, and studied his partner, as though he didn't believe him. "Good." He nodded. "This is good. I'm surprised you're not checking in every twenty minutes with Chin and Kono."

"That reminds me." Steve reached for his phone.

"Oh no you don't, Steven J. McGarrett, not on a date with me you don't. There are two perfectly capable cops handling things back on O'ahu. You're all mine tonight, you got that?"

Steve blushed as his glass of wine was set down in front of him.

The server didn't even have time to get a word in.

"A large pepperoni pie, extra cheese please. And he wants a salad. House dressing. On the side."

Steve got hard under the table. Danny was ordering for him too—as though it were second nature to him. "I get half that pizza, right?"

Danny cracked a wry smile. "Babe, if it's anything like what I smelled walking in here, you'll be lucky to get half a slice."

Steve took a sip of his wine. He'd always found Chianti a bit dry for his taste, but he found it very drinkable. He realized Danny was watching him, and involuntary flashed a shy smile between sips.

Danny shrugged. "Just lookin' atcha babe."

"And what are you thinking?"

"You want the real truth there?" Danny sipped his wine.

Steve nodded.

"It scares me how much I like you." Danny confessed.

"Scares you, why?" Steve didn't like where this was headed.

"I was thinking, you know. You go to a bar mitzvah once and it doesn't make you Jewish. But you fall in love with a guy—well, it doesn't make you gay, but you may as well be. You suck one cock and you're a cocksucker for the rest of your life." Danny frowned.

Steve wasn't sure what to say.

Danny continued. "There used to be this guy who was a friend of my Ma, back in Jersey—Artie. He lived up the street with his partner Marke and everybody knew what they were, and everybody laughed at them, but not Ma, and not Pop. Ma always told us kids, 'If I ever hear you saying bad things to or about people because of who they are, I'll knock you into the middle of next week—I don't care if it's race, religion, or having freckles and curly hair—but you if ever, _ever_, say one wrong word about Artie or anybody else like him because of who they love, you won't sit down for a month.' You see, Ma knew Artie since high school and she always felt bad – 'such a lonely life' what she said all the time."

Danny finished his wine and raised his glass, indicating he'd like another.

"I don't know why I told you that." Danny sighed.

"You're afraid of what admitting you love me makes you, and you're afraid it makes you like him." Steve said.

"Yeah, I mean, Artie was actually a pretty great guy, but he—hey what do you mean _admitting_ I love you?" Danny had a twinkle in his eye. "I see what ya did there McGarrett. Trying to get me to _admit_ I love you like you're saying you already know I do."

"You do?" Steve brightened.

Danny blushed. "There, you got me again! Backed into the corner by the crafty Navy man." He shook his head. He took a big sip of wine and Steve expected him to bitch at him for being pushy, but he just smiled and leaned back in his chair as Steve's salad appeared on the table in front of him.

"So whatever happened to Artie?" Steve asked as he ground some pepper onto his salad.

"His partner was dying of AIDS in the late '80s and his family wouldn't let Artie see him. They talked on the phone every day until Mark wasn't able to anymore. His family even buried Mark on their property, so Artie said goodbye to him on the phone, and couldn't even go to the funeral or see his grave. Pretty fucked up."

"I'll say it is."

"He died of a broken heart, Mom told me. While I was at college."

"I'm not going anywhere." Steve offered.

"Not if I have anything to do with it." Danny confirmed, squeezing his thigh under the table. "Now that is an amazing looking pizza pie!" he said excitedly as the pizza was placed on a stainless steel wire stand above the table.

Steve watched with hope as Danny took his first bite, and the look on his face told Steve he was sold. Finally, Danno had found good pizza in Hawai'i, and on his mother's island. His mother's and his.

After dinner they'd gone for another long walk, hand in hand, up and down the creaky wooden boards of the Old Koloa Town storefronts, seeking nothing in particular, enjoying the still warmth of the still young evening, taking in the sounds of the Kaua'i evening, taking refuge in an art gallery during the briefest of downpours. Danny was quieter, more reflective than usual, and Steve had caught him staring at him a few times from across the art gallery they'd ducked into, like he was undressing him with his eyes, still searching for the answer to whether he loved him the way Steve wanted to be loved.


End file.
